Nope, haven't been inside. I'd been scoping out both for a while, but my family has always driven Hondas and was already leaning toward the Fit. I'd seen a ton of photos and was going to test drive both, but when I got a $16,300 quote on a Sport MT, I nixed any plans to drive the Ford.

In any case, it's reassuring to hear that the materials don't match the hype. Though I'll admit, I thought the quality of materials in the Fit was talked up a little too much, too.

Thanks for the reply - I'm actually going out to said parking lot after work to try your all-door-unlocking procedure. I'm now on my third week of, "Can you unlock my door?" and it's starting to grind my gears.

 

Yes, it's amazing how many people try and exit the car before it stops lol.

The Fit's interior detailing, even since the GD, is excellent, compared to its peers. Feel the switchgear, how they operate, the fit of all the interior pieces. Not convinced? Go sit in a Saturn, Chevy or Ford, for example. I sat in a $45,000 Ford Taurus and I still would rate the Fit's interior better.

 

Oh, don't get me wrong, I think it's a comparatively high-quality car, inside and out. And I love it. I just remember reading that its materials are like those from a car three times its price -- or something like that.

Maybe this is how cars are made these days, but my 1995 Accord had WAY nicer seat foam, fabric, handles, cargo-space durability, noise insulation, etc. Either way, I certainly don't mean to argue with you about its relative fit/finish. For whatever reason, I just expected better after reading all the (mostly deserved) excellent reviews.

(Oh, the door-unlocking attempt was successful yesterday. Really curious if my girlfriend will notice...)

 

I think what the press mostly refer to is the over quality of the interior, plus the design. Example, look at the gorgeous gauges, esp at night. And, a car 3X its price would be the Lotus Elise. Sit in that and you'll see what kind of crap quality/fit/finish comes in this $50,000 car. Or sit in a Chevy, Ford, Saturn or even some Toyotas and maybe you'll see what I and the press are talking about.

Congrats on the door lock attempt. I'm sure your GF will feel much freer exiting the car, lol, rather than feeling you're intentionally trapping her in, lol.

 

Have to agree especially towards sunset.

They also remind me of a bullet when they're in motion...

 

While I like the general look of the GDs and GEs, there's no getting around the fact that it's a TALL car.

This is most evident in the GD Fit Aria/City, the Fit's sedan brother. Adding a trunk suddenly exposes how tall the rear fender area is and it's way too easy to make it look like it's got tiny wheels when it already rolls on 15s and 16s.

I kind of miss Honda's old 1990s-era school of design: low-slung and really aggressive. The tall-boy Fit/Jazz/City/Fit Aria styling does liberate more space though...can't please everybody...

 

OK I do feel like this everytime I see this car. Just like Twinke said, Look at that car!

YouTube - Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift/ Grits Ohh Ahh

Cat

 

I love every angle on my white GE except the direct side angle, kinda looks like a Prius. But the best angle is from the drivers seat

 

I decidedly do not like the look of the GD's. I would have never bought the Fit at that time- just not a look I like at all. I saw a sport GD yesterday and it look awful. Just too gauky looking at that time. And what, 2 or so years later the GE totally hit my styling sweet spot. Go figure. Sometimes the height bothers me a little bit and it is then that I think maybe the window visors could be somewhat of a solution- a little eye trickery to pull the roof/windows down a bit lower. But almost every angle, I like what I see. What is still really freaky though is seeing my Fit at work alone in the parking lot from say- 60' away. It is quite a stark reminder of just how SMALL the Fit really is. Driving the Fit, I feel like I'm in a midsize car. But there's no denying- it's actually a small sob!

Dan

 

The side profile of the fit looks plain disgusting. It's also too tall, theres a huge gap between the tires and the back wheel wells, rear end suddenly drops vertically down instead of nice k-tail.

Interior wise the three plastic knobs are probably placed ergonomically but they just look disorganized, cheap and plain ugly. Just place them organized in a little area under the navigator and give them a nice feel and look to it. They look like knobs on kids toys. Aftermarket navigators/head units look so out of place in the overall interior of the fit. It doesn't smoothly blend in with the surrounding plastics. But the ugliest part of the fit has to be the glove-boxes. Not the bottom one but the top one. Not only did they use cheap ugly looking plastics, they also made curves to it and put some kind of weird space in front of it to hold your pens or something. Just remove this little area for your pens or coins, draw straight lines and let it connect nicely with the bottom glove compartment. Let it blend in smoothly with the other parts of the interior and give it another colour.

The gauges are fine. Especially the orange gauges from Asia. Furthermore the car looks decent from the front and diagonally from the front. The view from the drivers seat is also very good looking.

I disagree with the Lotus Elise comment. The interior of the lotus elise looks stunning for me. I love the industrial look of it. It's infinitely better looking than the fit. Another car in the same class that did it right is the suzuki swift. The swift is a prime example of keeping it clean, simple and functional. For a couple of bucks more you got cars like the civic, crz and the mini cooper s that look infinitely better than the fit. Once you sat in a mini cooper s you'll start to appreciate all the small little details and finish that the car has and that the fit just doesn't.

 

Swifts and side moldings help the side view.



And at high noon it just is sharp.

 

Maybe in stock form but slightly modded suspension I think corrects most of this....


I like the subtle yet aggressive lines of the Fit. It has more side body shape compared to other hatches.





As for your Cooper S comment. Please remember a Cooper S is also $24K. For that much of a price difference I hope the interior is better.

 

When I bought my GE I was totally new to Honda and knew little beyond the economy of the Fit. First review from a buddie was, "Wow they really improved the looks of those things."

I like the GE styling much more than the GD.

You're right Shockwave - every now and again I look out and sing - YouTube - Billy Crystal - You Look Marvelous (1985)

 

Styles change and people get tired of what's hot today and will put it down as old and outdated long before the usefulness of the product has been fully realized.... I don't even look at my car except when I am approaching it to get in and take a drive or servicing it... Anything that you do to project a certain nouveau aesthetic theme will more than likely be scorned but performance and practicality is always valued...... I guess it would make me feel good to see my car all clean and pretty every so often but it is seldom that I feel up to doing all of the work required to get it that way since it will be covered with dust and sand within minutes of leaving the barn and driving the 1/2 mile to pavement.

 

When I get off work at night and I walk up to where I park I fall in love all over again. Especially if my car is already covered in dew or rainwater. It just looks dead sexy!! (though I think Car and Driver's comment that the Fit has looks only a mother could love is about right, lol.)

 

Coyote - just think covered in dew or rainwater, try to think of that as sexy and get the hose out. We all know what only a mother could love.

Red - go for the Nauitlus - now!

 

Not so sure about Mother Coyote though

He is just making up excuses for not getting off his azz to wash it.

 

I wash my car every Friday before the sun comes up. I do hate it when it gets dirty, or last week when I had a cat walk all over it, leaving muddy footprints all up and down my windshield.

Nautilus is that loud air horn, isn't it?

 

Strebel Nautilus Compact Sounds like: Documento senza titolo

See it here: STEBEL S.p.A. - horns

You'll need to run a 20A fused circuit off the battery to trip a relay triggered by the OEM horn lead.

 

been over a year and i still look back after i park to admire it.